.

My wife was a faithful listener. I was led to hope I might one day, a long time from now, die so well.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 11:11 AM on August 18, 2008

The stuff about the letter is peanuts compared to the book's allegations about the former director of Iraq's intelligence agency:

Suskind writes that the White House had “ignored the Iraq intelligence chief’s accurate disclosure that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion.

“They secretly resettled him in Jordan, paid him $5 million – which one could argue was... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:34 AM on August 5, 2008

Two years as a professional writer and she has the cover story in The New York Times Sunday Magazine. How will she ever recover from the damage blogging has wrought.

Feh.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:20 AM on May 22, 2008

Thank you all for your responses so far.

A bit more information:

It's not a little crack, and is too late to glue. The impact site is about 4 inches from the top, near the center of the glass. A three-foot crack reached out to the left, and ran to the top border almost all the way to the driver's (left) side.

It has passed inspection once in New York State this way. The mechanic said that unless you could feel it, that is,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 4:45 PM on May 8, 2008

Creepy.

If you have accurately described the situation, he is (in my opinion) inappropriately sexualizing your relationship. Because of the power dynamic, you need his goodwill. Since the academic system has given him huge power over you, it also puts the onus on him to be carefully, deliberately neutral.

Faculty members empowered to shape the lives of their students are told it's wrong to inject sexuality into relationships with those whose... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 1:29 PM on April 10, 2008

IANAL. But the U.S. laws on taking pictures from public property are pretty well settled, with minor exceptions for clear privacy violations (i.e., shooting from a sidewalk through someone's bedroom window). By settled, I mean that if you're shooting from a public place, you have a right to use the picture for general purposes.

My guess would be this is a harrassment action, or a flat out scam.

I personally would try to get someone at the L.A.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 7:46 AM on April 9, 2008

If it fails to rise, do I need a little blue pill?
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:11 AM on April 4, 2008

You bastards!

/Cartman
posted to MetaTalk by sacre_bleu at 8:15 AM on April 1, 2008

The point of the article is that the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs did not document rogue soldiers' excesses, as the administration has claimed, and as the media has largely reported.

In fact, the photos were windows into the official U.S. policy, documenting some of the mandated, routine torture of prisoners suspected of possessing actionable intelligence, the article says.

No article I have read in the mainstream American press has put it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 5:42 PM on March 20, 2008

The story speculates that she started to take pictures as a way to try to distance herself from what was happening. As Sy Hersh has written, other soldiers that did the chain-of-command thing to try to stop the torture got ignored, or cashiered.

Her personal story reminds me of nothing more than the Vietnam stories about the small town boys turned GIs who want crazy behind the razor wire waiting, as the booby traps and the snipers turned their friends into corpses.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 6:49 AM on March 21, 2008

.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 10:10 PM on March 18, 2008

Ow.

That is all.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 5:45 AM on February 14, 2008

That's messed up. "Mine" and "yours" are the way roommates talk, in my experience.

I do know married couples with separate personal accounts, but groceries? You've got to be kidding me. Is he going to bill you for extra toilet paper, assuming you use more?

The thing about the aunt's money is a screaming sign, in my opinion. Such covetousness runs counter to the idea that you're in this together. Again, in my opinion, but you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 4:12 PM on February 8, 2008

From the ingenious scrounging Allied POW genre:

The Great Escape, Paul Brickhill
Colditz
The Wooden Horse - where POWs use a wooden vaulting horse and practice held inder the eyes of Nazi guards to din an escape tunne.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 7:30 AM on February 8, 2008

So, is Men's Vogue going to have lots of these how-to articles? Like, "How to seduce your kids' nanny and screw your wife on the settlement while sculpting fantastic washboard abs"?

Cause that's a magazine I would totally subscribe to.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 1:19 PM on January 25, 2008

I'm down for Meetup Round Two. FWIW.
posted to MetaTalk by sacre_bleu at 7:12 AM on January 9, 2008

Sounds like a lose-lose. (Rat out the boyfriend or help ambush your roommate, who sounds like she's moved on.) I'd declare myself unavailable and vacate the premises during the target timeframe.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 11:21 AM on December 14, 2007

The only link above that's been offered previously is the original newspaper story, included here for the backtracking convenience of those who did not catch the original thread on Monday.

To me, the original story, which sparked the original thread, was appalling. But what people did afterward? I don't know if it's "Best of the web," but it surely is an interesting example of the web at work.

But if it's to be deleted, then aw, shucks.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 9:51 PM on November 15, 2007

Survey says: BZZZZZZT.

Hang this next to "monkeyfishing" in the Hoax Hall of Shame.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 12:37 PM on November 15, 2007

Ooo, I always wondered what a mashup of Veggie Tales and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" would look like.

Yep, you have to wonder what audience would pay to see this. There's a reason, maybe, movies are made with teams. "Great animation! The characters ... not so much."
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 2:37 PM on November 14, 2007

Blogs are engaging in journalism. Reporters are engaging in stenography.

People who talk like this, in my experience, don't know any reporters.

So the blogs are the future, hey? Aw, bullshit. Blogs can do connecting-the-dots type analysis, and sometimes come up with interesting insights (how come all these Attorneys General who declined to prosecute Democrats got fired?). Blogs can also fact-check claims with massed attention... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 2:10 PM on November 14, 2007

There may be something about the Iraq war that is messing up soldiers' heads worse than previous wars.

“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

The U.S. Army's own report has nearly 1-in-3 returning soldiers admitting... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:19 AM on November 12, 2007

Heat.

DeNiro, the consummate pro bank robber ("It's business") has the money and a beautiful girl, and a clean escape.

Then he turns around and walks into an obvious trap so he can fail to to kill a guy because of a personal grudge.

Have I spoiled it for you yet?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 12:49 PM on November 9, 2007 marked best answer

I'm as tired of Security Kabuki as anybody, but this sounds like BS to me.

All Mr Joel L. Merchant would have had to do, to be a good citizen, was to include the date and time of the train on his post. Amtrak would have done the rest.

A poster on Schneider's blog said they'd contacted him to ask for more info. So far, no good.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 5:37 PM on November 8, 2007

I had my doubts about getting married. This is what settled it for me:

I loved to come home to her. The idea of waking up without her made me sick. The most "beautiful" women in town did not make my heart flutter the way she did.

We argued. We fought. We saw other people. I never stopped comparing all the other girls to her.

Fifteen years later, we still argue from time to time. There are things about me she... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 1:14 PM on November 1, 2007

If you're installing floodlights and going the TRO route you might also think of a few good surveillance cameras.

They won't stop Stone Cold Maniac Guy but if he's working his way up to mayhem, as many do, you may record evidence of him lurking, reconnoitering your place or otherwise violating TRO. Thus (possibly) giving you an opening to chill him out without violence.

Good luck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 12:34 PM on November 1, 2007

Dammit. Not panacea. Placebo is the right word.

That is, in the articles there is some dispute whether the reported salutary effects have a physiological foundation, or should be ascribed to the power of suggestion.

Hope me, mods?
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 2:00 PM on October 30, 2007

You threw a drink on someone who accidentally spilled a drink on you. Even if the guy was a dick, you instantly went from wronged to wronger.

Still, your friend overreacted too. A ban? Sounds like he's reacting to soothe other parties. His wife?

Either way, you better find other parties to go to.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 12:28 PM on October 29, 2007

Here's an article on a man who teaches interviewing, from American Journalism Review. I have found it helpful in guiding fledgling interviewers. The page includes links to suggestions on "What to do" and "What not to do."

One of the most important things to do with a fiction writer, IMHO, is to read deeply into the works, if you haven't already.

Good luck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 5:46 AM on October 24, 2007

Good question. Good answers.

I've wondered deep and long about Effigy2000's question, and I think the movies tickle something different in different groups of people.

Among those sectors of the gorno audience not already discussed:

* People who would like to do something like the screeen shows to people they dislike (for which urge the movie may provide relief).

* Teenagers who like the fact that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 5:39 AM on October 24, 2007

I was thinking, "There's no way the story can back up that headline."

I was wrong.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 12:24 PM on October 23, 2007

Had a similar incident, what a pain to diagnose. Culprit was a partly clogged ignition bar for a water heater - the heater would still work, just part of the area that was supposed to flame didn't, because it got clogged with dust somehow.

Once cleaned, no more smell.

YMMV, obv.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 1:50 PM on September 25, 2007 marked best answer

Have you used the search function to read the bajillion threads on this issue?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 6:21 PM on September 19, 2007

Heh. The U.S. Army wouldn't even fill out a form for a finger. You get pissed and pop a few Iraquis, they send sonebody by later with $1,000 to say sorry, maybe.

An investigation? Puh-leeze.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:45 AM on September 12, 2007

When they kick in your front door, how you gonna come?
With your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun?

God save the Queen
The fascist regime
They made you a moron
Potential H-Bomb

The preacher asked her, and she said "I do"
The preacher asked me, and she said, "He does too"
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 12:11 PM on September 7, 2007

Ten years ago I bought a Peugeot. After a brief feeling-out period, it has served me ably since.

The one-handed models are great - if you've got a hankering for carpal tunnel syndrome.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 6:11 PM on September 3, 2007

When assembling the menu, reject any dishes that need to be finished at the last minute. You don't need the stress. Select appetizer, salad, soup, entree and dessert that can sit on your counter, stove or in the refrigerator as guests arrive.

Gazpacho or vichyssoise are memorable cold soups; marinated salads can be made ahead and taken out of the fridge just long enough to take the chill off; antipasto can be arranged and await your guests. Stews, Indian or Thai curries,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 6:07 PM on September 3, 2007

Lyle Lovett, "L.A. County"

She left Dallas for California
With an old friend by her side
Well he did not say much
But one year later
He'd ask her to be his wife

And the lights of L.A. County
Look like diamonds in the sky
When you're driving through the hours
With an old friend at your side

One year later I left... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 7:47 PM on August 23, 2007

College instructor myself.

Tell the prof what effect their action had on you. Give them a chance to square what might have been a momentary slip.

If their response is anything but a sincere apology and pledge it won't happen again, take it up the chain, and name names.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 8:54 AM on August 21, 2007

With all due respect to xmutex, you'd really really want to take a peek at a copy of Dhalgren before you hand it to someone who rarely reads.

You want accessible. Kids finishing Potter have also recommended Dark Materials (the Pullman trilogy) to me as a follow-up.

I'd start her on proven oldies-but-goodies.

The Hobbit, etc., JRR Tolkien
Dune, Frank Herbert
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
The Shining, Stephen King
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 1:11 PM on August 16, 2007

Tacos al pastor (marinated pork on a vertical spit) was developed by Lebanese restauranteurs in Mexico City to make shawarma palatable to local tastes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2007

I missed the announcement back in April -- could someone smarter than me elucidate the "### 30 ###" comments?

Smarts got nothing to do with it.

It's how newspaper reporters ended their stories when they typed them on typewriters - a note so editors wouldn't worry that the last page of manuscript was misplaced. It's a carry-over from telegraph-era transmissions, when you would want to signal that you were done... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:28 AM on July 5, 2007

Using her first name implies an intimacy that does not, in fact, exist. (Unless you're closer to the subject than you've already said.)

You want her and your magazine to seem approachable? Do good reporting that goes beyond the superficial. Ask her questions that get her to share with you, and through you, the readers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 7:10 PM on June 29, 2007

If his blind, fumbling arrogance as a blogger is at all reflective on his professional attitudes and decisionmaking as a doctor, maybe his blog really was relevant. As "flea" himself said, he was instructed that the malpractice jury would make its decision based on its perception of his character.

If the jury was going to find him a stupid, preening asshole, no wonder he settled.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 11:21 AM on May 31, 2007

The Wire on HBO, which is produced by a former crime reporter and a former police detective.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 6:03 AM on May 29, 2007 marked best answer

You want to rage about prosecutorial misconduct, how about some cases where the death penalty was the grand prize?
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 6:00 AM on May 29, 2007

I'm a dad who loved loved loved having a doula. Best money I ever spent at a hospital. Interview to get the right one.

For $150 US we got an registered nurse with 25+ years experience in birthing rooms as a coach/consultant in the room with us through the process. It was our third child, and I kicked myself for not getting doulas earlier.

The doula was our instant consultant/agent, the only one in the building with nothing but my wife's comfort,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by sacre_bleu at 10:22 AM on May 25, 2007

Thanks, Professor Lamewad.

I feel for the guy. I teach at a New York State university, and I find students who have picked up hip-hop culture (mainly white but some blacks, Asians, Latinos) to be huge energy sinks as students.

That is, they not only aren't that interested in learning, they disparage the strivings of other students. Laughing at suggestions that they might do something that takes energy, that takes stepping... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 6:17 AM on May 22, 2007

"High school kids are indeed more accomplished and impressive than ever."

I must object.

Maybe the top layer are. But a vast number are being underserved by a high school culture that sees itself as supporting college applications as much as actually ensuring kids learn.

Half of the kids who walk into my classroom at Big State U. have appalling language skills and work habits. And they're signing up for an... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 11:13 AM on May 17, 2007

Gassed by your own guys. Sheesh.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 8:14 AM on May 17, 2007